Hi! We are the new Wildlife Advisers, Dannie and Louise, this week we joined the Wildlife Enquiries Team at HQ as seasonal workers, getting ready for the busy and exciting spring/ summer period. Below is a little bit about our first week on the job!

Dannie:

Hello! My first day started off with a tour of our headquarters, the offices, library, and of course tea making facilities (an essential stop on the first day!). During my tour I learnt what activities my new role will entail and the types of queries I may receive, which seem to cover all manner of things wildlife related! I am looking forward to spending my day answering the phone, e-mails and letters on the wide variety of issue that my new team covers. From anything from how to manage land for wildlife, issues with renewable energy, bird diseases and bird identification, it sounds like I will definitely be kept on my toes and I can’t wait to get stuck in!

The Lodge is a wonderful reserve to work on. I have been taking lunch-time walks through a variety of trails and have seen a number of exciting birds already, including a green woodpecker, mistle thrush and some flirtatious blue tits. Though there is so much to learn, we have a great team around us who will help us find all the information that we need.

Louise:

Hey! So, as I’m sure you can imagine people contact us with queries about a vast range of subjects, some controversial and others more light-hearted including bird ID’s or where the best pub is in relation to the Reserve. So the first three days involved getting to grips with, and trying to digest, the substantial amount of information required to answer all of these areas.

Late on day three saw me receiving my first phone call.....by mistake! Was there anything this lady could do to stop the Ravens fighting her resident Crows? Unfortunately not, she would just have to watch them battle it out. Although nervous, I am not too worried about starting to answer the phone calls as I know the Team here will get me through the difficult or tricky questions. I’m just not looking forward to the first irate caller.....keep calm I guess. My highlight of the week was when I received an email with a photograph of a 3 year old boy dressed as a Kingfisher for World Book Day at his school. Thomas the Tank Engine, Batman or a pirate were suggestions from his mum but no ‘I want to be a kingfisher, like in mummy’s book’!!

We have had a good first week, learning the ropes of this challenging and ever evolving job, and we look forward to keeping you updates with our progress.

Hello Louise and Dannie. You chose a wonderful place to do your seasonal work. Hope you continue to enjoy your time at The Lodge and there will be no irate callers. Stay calm, have a cup of tea and go for a walk around the trails. Very Best Wishes to you both.